Se connecterSarafina blinked once, then twice, and for a second, she just stared at me like her brain hadn’t fully caught up yet.Finally, she spoke carefully. “Okay…”I rubbed my palms against my jeans nervously.“That’s… actually great,” she said slowly. “I mean, obviously confusing considering everything that happened last night, but still great.” She tilted her head slightly. “So why are you hiding it from everyone?”I looked away immediately because this was the part where everything got complicated.Sarafina noticed my hesitation right away. “Ethan.”I sighed heavily. “Because my mate isn’t from the pack.”Her brows furrowed slightly. “And?”“He’s not supernatural.”That confused her even more. “You bonded with a human?”I nodded faintly.Sarafina blinked rapidly. “Wait.”I swallowed.“There's something else…” I forced out awkwardly, “my mate isn’t a female.”Silence... then Sarafina burst out laughing, just completely caught off guard.I stayed completely straight-faced and her laughter sl
As Lucas drove through the iron gates of the pack territory, I knew we were screwed, and it wasn't because anyone suspected anything, but because my father was already waiting for us.The Alpha stood near the center courtyard with his arms crossed behind his back, surrounded by two patrol wolves and several elders, and as the second Lucas parked the car, my father’s eyes locked onto us.My stomach tightened immediately.Lucas muttered under his breath, “You better hope your friend doesn’t murder anyone else before tonight.”I elbowed him hard before getting out of the car.My father approached us almost immediately.“What did you find?” he asked.Straight to business as always.Lucas glanced at me briefly, and my heart immediately started pounding.Please keep your promise... please.I forced my face to stay neutral while my father stared at us carefully.“There were signs of an attack,” Lucas answered carefully. “More blood. Another body.”My father’s expression darkened instantly.“
Derek’s breath brushed against my lips.My hands were still cupping his face, his fingers tangled tightly in my shirt like he was scared I’d disappear if he loosened his grip.“Wouldn't you want to be a part of something where we are allowed to just be ourselves... just us.”But Derek looked at me like I’d just handed him the moon. His blue eyes softened completely, every wall he usually carried around me finally cracking apart.“Ethan…” he whispered.Then he leaned in again, slowly this time, as if moving too fast would ruin the moment.My heart slammed hard against my ribs as our lips nearly touched—BANG.The front door flew open so violently it slammed against the wall. Derek and I jumped apart instantly as Lucas stormed inside looking completely frantic.“Ethan,” he snapped urgently, “come with me. Now.”I frowned immediately. “What happened?”“I saw men coming this way.”Every muscle in Derek’s body tensed.“My father?” he asked quickly.Lucas nodded sharply.Derek immediately t
Derek looked at me hopefully. “You do?”I nodded slowly. “There’s blood leading out of the house. Somebody made it out alive.”His shoulders sagged with relief so intense it almost looked painful.“Oh my God…”“But Derek…” I hesitated carefully. “I think Lucas might be right about one thing.”His face fell immediately.I continued before he could spiral again. “Well not about you being a monster.” I squeezed his shoulder gently. “But about leaving this scene alone.”Derek frowned. “What?”“You shouldn’t clean this up.”He glanced around the room uncertainly.I kept going carefully. “You need to focus on finding your father first. And if you can’t find him…” I swallowed. “Then you should tell the Ashbounds what happened.”Derek stiffened slightly at that.“Tell them everything,” I said softly. “Maybe they can help you find both your dad and whoever did this.”His expression twisted with conflict, fear, and confusion, but eventually he nodded.“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.”Relief flooded
“Lucas, please stop talking.”My voice cracked through the destroyed living room sharper than I intended and Lucas looked at me like I’d completely lost my mind.Derek stood frozen beside me, his breathing uneven as his eyes moved between us. “What does he mean?” he asked quietly.I immediately shook my head. “Nothing. Don’t listen to him.”“Ethan—”“We need to focus on this first,” I cut in quickly, gesturing toward the blood-soaked room. “We’ll figure everything out later.”For a second, Derek looked like he wanted to push me harder for answers, then Lucas laughed bitterly.The sound echoed through the ruined house.“I cannot believe you right now, Ethan,” Lucas muttered.I clenched my jaw. “Lucas.”“No.” He pointed around the room. “You want me to ignore all this?” He looked directly at Derek. “I’m not helping clean up a slaughterhouse created by a feral monster.”Derek stiffened instantly. “I didn’t do this.”Lucas barked out another laugh. “Seriously?”“I said I didn’t!”The wall
I stormed back to the car and slammed the door harder than I meant to as Derek disappeared down the street without looking back once. The sound echoed in the quiet neighborhood.Lucas leaned against the steering wheel, staring at me. “Okay… what the hell was that?”I turned toward him slowly, still breathing hard from the argument. “Why would you tell him about Sarafina?”Lucas blinked. “What?”“Why would you bring up that she’s my mate?” I snapped. “Especially to Derek.”Lucas frowned like he genuinely didn’t understand the problem. “Dude, calm down. I didn’t think it was some huge secret.” He shrugged casually. “And Derek seemed fine. He was probably just teasing you. You don't have to be ashamed of your wolf culture in front of your supposed friend.”I let out a dry laugh and rolled my eyes, turning away before I said something worse. “You seriously don’t get it.”“Then explain it to me.”“I shouldn’t have to.” I rubbed a hand over my face before looking back at him. “Just… don’t t
Derek’s eyes moved between the bodies and us like he was trying to force the image to rearrange itself into something that made sense. But sadly, it didn’t.Blood soaked the porch. The broken door hung off its hinges. Two Ashbound hunters lay motionless in the dirt behind him, their weapons scatter
The silence stretched so tight it felt like it would snap as Derek’s father stood in the doorway, shoulders squared, eyes blazing. His gaze moved from me to Derek, then back to me again, slower this time.“Who,” he asked evenly, “is the boy in your room?”Derek opened his mouth, but nothing came ou
The way he said they were here made me bite the inside of my mouth“Who’s here?” I asked, my voice sounding smaller than I meant it to.My father didn’t look at me when he answered.“The witches.”The way he said it in a flat, heavy, final way sent a cold ripple down my spine. Before I could say an
I tried to look away. I tried to pretend the night air was suddenly fascinating, that the iron gates weren’t still humming faintly with magic, that Bri’s whispered Ethan wasn’t echoing in my head like a bruise that refused to fade.My father didn’t let me.“Ethan,” he said again, slower this time,







